John Bawden was presented
with his service certificate at the annual Newquay RNLI Crew dinner and
dance. John has given the RNLI over 40 years of service. His certificate was
presented by Chris Price who was one on Newquay's previous divisional
inspectors.
Pic (L-R) Chris Price, John
Bawden, Eddie Burt
© Phil@cornwall-photos.com
John Bawden who retired at
the age of 70 has never learnt to swim, despite being a lifeboat man.
John has seen many
changes in the RNLI over the years, including the introduction of radios and
being able to swim as a compulsory requirement for joining.
John Bawden reflects
on his time with the RNLI
"When I joined in 1966
we did not have very much training. We did our own training as we went
along and learned ourselves, back in those days you just volunteered and got
given a lifejacket."
"We did some good rescues and people appreciated it but
we also got some silly call-outs.
"We would get called out to search for someone reported missing at night
and then would find them back in their tent asleep."
John joined the crew
in 1966. In 1983 he came off the boat crew and took on the role of DLA, in
1990 he became Hon Sec , the equivalent of today's Operations Manager. In
1997 he wnet back to DAL until he retired in October 2007.
Simon
Pryce, RNLI Divisional Inspector says:
'The
RNLI relies on dedicated supporters such as John Bawden to keep its
lifeboats afloat. It would be fair to say volunteers are the lifeblood of
our charity. John is a superb example of someone who has given the RNLI many
years of selfless support, from his time as a crew member to his vital work
as a shore based volunteer helping to run the Newquay lifeboat station and
support the crew of today. His wisdom and experience has proved valuable to
many and we are sorry to see him hang up his pager. I wish him well in his
retirement from the RNLI but hope we will continue to benefit from his
support in Newquay.'
I
